January 7.2C 1996 1995–96 NFL playoffs

at texas stadium, irving, texas

game time: 12:30 p.m. est/11:30 a.m. cst
game weather: 32 °f (0 °c), clear
game attendance: 64,371
referee: gerald austin
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall , john madden

with eagles starting quarterback rodney peete injured on, cowboys held philadelphia 227 yards , 11 points.

the cowboys scored on second drive of game, moving ball 37 yards chris boniol s 24-yard field goal. following eagles punt, mark mcmillian intercepted pass dallas quarterback troy aikman , returned 34 yards cowboys 43, setting gary anderson s 26-yard field goal on first play of second quarter. on philadelphia s field goal drive, peete suffered concussion when tackled darren woodson 1 yard short of first down on dallas 9-yard line, knocking him out of game , randall cunningham replaces him.

in second quarter, dallas running emmitt smith rushed 4 times 25 yards , caught 22-yard reception on 70-yard drive deion sanders finished 21-yard touchdown on end-around run. eagles managed 1 first down before punting. cowboys marched 79 yards, including troy aikman s completions of 37 , 26 yards receiver kevin williams , fullback daryl johnston. johnston s catch gave team first down on eagles 1-yard line, , smith ran ball end zone on next play, giving team 17-3 lead 3:42 left in half.

williams returned second half kickoff 24 yards dallas-yard line, , caught 34-yard pass team drove 59 yards score on boniol s 18-yard field goal, making score 20-3. on dallas next drive, upped lead 23-3 boniol s franchise record 51-yard field goal.

in fourth quarter, sanders intercepted pass cunningham , returned 12 yards eagles 21-yard line, leading final score on aikman s 9-yard pass michael irvin. eagles responded cunningham completed 4/5 passes 63 yards before taking ball end zone himself on 4-yard run. completed pass 2-point conversion, 2:36 remained in game.

aikman finished game 17/24 253 yards , touchdown, 1 interception. irvin, double teamed of game, had 1 reception, williams caught 6 passes 124 yards , returned 2 kickoffs 45. smith rushed 99 yards , touchdown, while catching 3 passes 40. eagles running ricky watters, rushed 1,273 yards during season, finished game 39 yards on 13 attempts, though caught 4 passes 45 yards.

afc: indianapolis colts 10, kansas city chiefs 7

at arrowhead stadium, kansas city, missouri

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/3:00 p.m. cst
game weather: 14 °f (−10 °c), clear
game attendance: 77,594
referee: jerry markbreit
tv announcers (nbc): dick enberg, phil simms, , paul maguire

the chiefs, held league s best record during regular season (13–3), heavily favored beat 9–7 colts, particularly since indianapolis star running marshall faulk inactive due injury, along defensive lineman tony siragusa due illness. end of game, kansas city lost 4 turnovers , kicker lin elliot missed 3 field goals en route 10–7 colts upset.

after first 4 possessions of game resulted in punts, kansas city scored on quarterback steve bono s 20-yard touchdown wide receiver lake dawson 29 seconds left in first quarter on drive covered 62 yards in 5 plays. indianapolis countered long methodical 18-play drive in converted 5 third downs , 1 fourth down on way jim harbaugh s 5-yard touchdown pass receiver floyd turner tie game. harbaugh had made several key plays on drive, converting 3rd , 11 18-yard scramble , 3 plays later finding receiver aaron bailey 13-yard completion on 3rd , 10. running lamont warren made big play converting 4th , 1 situation 4-yard gain. later on, colts kicker cary blanchard missed 47-yard field goal attempt 57 seconds left in half. kansas city drove colts 17-yard line, have elliot hit uprights 35 yards out.

in third period, colts defensive ashley ambrose intercepted pass bono @ midfield, setting blanchard s 30-yard field goal give team lead. in fourth quarter, chiefs reached indianapolis 22-yard line, got missed field goal, 1 39 yards 10:36 left play. indianapolis failed gain first down next 2 drives, while bono threw consecutive interceptions, 1 linebacker quentin coryatt , cornerback eugene daniel. after coryatt interception, colts had chance increase lead, blanchard missed field goal attempt 49 yards out. 4:12 left in game, rich gannon replaced bono , led chiefs own 18 colts 25-yard line. 42 seconds left, elliot missed third field goal of day, 42-yard attempt, , indianapolis escaped win.